The Trial of Sirius Black
by plutoplex
Summary: Sirius Black finally gets his trial. It doesn't go as well as he had hoped. One-shot.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling, her publishers, and Warner Brothers own Harry Potter.

 _"_ _That was still really dangerous! Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you'd given others the slip, and bitten somebody?"_

 _"_ _A thought that still haunts me," said Lupin heavily. "And there were near misses, many of them. We laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless – carried away with our own cleverness."_

 _\- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban_

Sirius smiled at the assembled witches and wizards in plum-colored robes as he awaited their decision. Despite the chains binding him to his chair, he had finally, _finally_ , gotten his trial. The Wizengamot had listened to his testimony under veritaserum, had heard the proof that Wormtail – that despicable rat – had been the true traitor. They had heard the character witnesses. The prosecution had dug up ol' Snivellus, but even that was a joke. The greasy git's jealous spite failed to hold up under Remus's testimony of childhood friendship and Dumbledore's story of the redemption of the house of Black.

"Witches and wizards of the jury," Amelia Bones, who was presiding, called out, "do you have a verdict?"

Wizened old Griselda Marchbanks rose from her seat. Sirius remembered her testing him on his Transfiguration NEWT, and how he had so impressed her back then. He smiled, confident in the knowledge that she was friendly with Dumbledore. "We do," she said. "On the count of betraying Lily and James Potter to You-Know-Who, we find the defendant not guilty."

A deafening cheer rose up from the audience. Sirius could see Harry, surrounded by the smiling Weasley family, beaming as he jumped up and applauded.

"On the count of being an unregistered animagus, we find the defendant guilty by his own admission. We sentence him to five years in Azkaban," Marchbanks continued.

 _What?_ Sirius stared at her in shock, but then relaxed. _I've already spent twelve years, and that was for the crime they acquitted me of. That's seven years longer than I needed. Besides, five years is the minimum for failure to register._

"On the count of attempted murder via dark creature, we find the defendant guilty. We hereby sentence him to seven years in Azkaban."

"No!" Harry cried.

Amelia Bones banged her gavel. "If the audience cannot remain silent, they will be asked to leave."

Sirius cast a reassuring glance at Harry. _It's okay, pup. That's still only twelve years. The Ministry just wants to say they didn't make a mistake all along. I'll still be free, you'll see._

"On twenty-two counts of reckless endangerment, we find the defendant guilty. We hereby sentence him to six months in Azkaban per offense. On the charge of willful and malicious assault on an awakened portrait, we find the defendant guilty. We hereby sentence him to two years in Azkaban. "

"No! That's another thirteen years!" Sirius shouted. "That's not fair! I never betrayed Lily and James! I fought _against_ the Death Eaters!"

Amelia Bones banged her gavel again. In the renewed silence, Marchbanks said severely, "Sirius Black, while we accept your innocence on the most serious charge, that does _not_ excuse the life of crime you led prior to your initial imprisonment. Intentionally freeing a transformed werewolf from the confines put in place for his safety and those of others and then encouraging him to wander freely across the grounds of a _school_ displays, at best, a woeful lack of regard for the lives of others. As the majority of these instances occurred following your so-called 'trick' that threatened the life of a fellow student, we the jury have cause to doubt your claims of youthful high spirits.

"According to your own testimony, Headmaster Dumbledore explained to you the potential consequences of your thoughtlessness following Mister Snape's near-fatal encounter with Mister Lupin. You ignored his warning. You disregarded the precautions set for the safety of the students of Hogwarts and the citizens of Hogsmeade, and continued to release your friend during the full moon each month. On any or all of these nights, your friend could have killed or infected an innocent. You risked manslaughter by proxy once a month for nearly three years. For this, we find you guilty."

"But no one was hurt!" Sirius cried.

Marchbanks glared at him. "Ignoring, for the moment, how the psychological trauma of a murder attempt affected the young Mister Snape, your unprovoked assault on the Fat Lady's portrait required considerable effort of Britain's foremost art restoration expert to repair.

"Moreover, actually causing someone to be 'hurt' is not the only consideration. Side-along apparation while intoxicated is a crime, Mister Black, even if no one is splinched. Breeding ashwinders is a crime, even if no one is immolated. By the same token, releasing a werewolf among an unsuspecting human population is a crime, even if no one is bitten."

The last thing Sirius saw before the dementors took him away was his godson as he struggled in vain against the restraining arms of a sobbing Molly Weasley.


End file.
